longevity
Americannoun
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longevities
plural
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a long individual life; great duration of individual life.
Our family is known for its longevity.
-
the length or duration of life.
research in human longevity.
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length of service, tenure, etc.; seniority.
promotions based on longevity.
noun
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long life
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relatively long duration of employment, service, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of longevity
From the Latin word longaevitās, dating back to 1605–15. See longevous, -ity
Explanation
Something with longevity has the ability to last for a long time. While tortoises are not known for their quickness, their longevity is amazing. Just ask the Hare. At the root of longevity is the word long. So when you see longevity, think “a long time." In fact, this word has some serious longevity, since it's been around since the 1600s. Longevity is most commonly used to describe the length of one’s lifetime, but it can also mean a long duration, such as one’s longevity working for a certain company for an extended period of time.
Vocabulary lists containing longevity
100 Top "SAT" Words
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List 1
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Based on the evidence we have, intermittent fasting isn’t superior to calorie counting for weight loss, and many claims about longevity and health optimization are far ahead of existing research evidence.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Benveniste summed up the album’s longevity simply: “Greatness has no shelf life.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
The possibility that restoring those pathways could improve memory, physical function, or longevity remains experimental.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
Our columnist took part in a longevity fitness challenge to find out how well he’s aging and learn how people are turning back the clock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
By retiring when he did, he avoided that fate, which would have established a precedent that smacked of monarchical longevity by permitting biology to set the terminus of his tenure.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
A team of researchers recently analyzed the longevities and lifestyles of nearly 1,000 species of mammals, ranging from aardvarks to zebras.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 31, 2023
For each of these types of tissues, propose a reason based on internal and external factors and function that might account for the differences among their longevities.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Hufeland again remarks that the greatest longevities pertain to wise and well-regulated lives.
From Lectures on the true, the beautiful and the good by Victor Cousin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
